Method, network server and computer program for determining advertisement information relating to map information

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a solution in which advertisement icons displayed together with map information relate to the displayed map information. In one embodiment of the invention, some or all of the advertisement icons are from service providers situated within the geographical area displayed by the map information.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/813,488 filed on Nov. 15, 2017, which is a continuation of Ser. No.13/397,137 filed on Feb. 15, 2012, now issued as U.S. Pat. No.9,842,171, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/647,421 filed Dec. 29, 2006, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,136,044.The above-identified applications are herein incorporated by referencein their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The invention relates to data communications. In particular, theinvention relates to a novel and improved method, network server andcomputer program for determining advertisement information relating tomap information.

Description of the Related Art

The Internet and especially the World Wide Web have become popular as aprovider of different services. Many service providers provide theirservices via electronic commerce or via other types of services. One ofthe many services provided via the World Wide Web is a map service.

A typical map service is an interactive service with which a user isable to access map information on desired geographical locations.Examples of the map services include a route finder (from a location Ato B) and an address finder (a specific location).

Since the World Wide Web is a world wide service, it offers anexceptionally powerful way to convey information. It also offers manyways for advertising different services or products. The advertising ofservices or products has also been combined with many map servicesprovided via the World Wide Web.

An example of such map services is the Yahoo Maps. In the Yahoo Mapsoutside the map area (e.g. below the map) is shown one or moreadvertisement icons. The icons shown are typically selected from a setadvertisement based on different criteria, e.g. an advertising contract.When a user clicks on an advertisement and when the current map isscaled so that the map area currently shown to the user does not includethe location of the service provider of the clicked advertisement, themap automatically scales to a scale in which that includes also one ormore geographical locations of the services provider.

Although there are many map services that combine advertisements to theprovided map information, the use of the advertisements is not optimal.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a solution in which advertisement iconsdisplayed together with map information relate to the displayed mapinformation. In one embodiment of the invention, some or all of theadvertisement icons are from service providers situated within thegeographical area displayed by the map information.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a methodcomprising: receiving, with an information network server from a webbrowser, a map request; determining, with the network server, based onat least one criterion a set of advertisements relating to the requestedmap information; sending the requested map information and thedetermined set of advertisements to the web browser; receiving a zoom ortransition request of the previously sent map information; determining,with the network server, based on at least one criterion a new set ofadvertisements relating to the requested map information; and sendingthe requested map information and the new set of advertisements to theweb browser.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided anetwork server comprising: a map application; a map information storageconnected to the map application or a connection to the map informationstorage; and an advertisement storage connected to the map applicationor a connection to the advertisement storage. The map application isconfigured to: receive, from a web browser, a map information request;determine based on at least one criterion a set of advertisementsrelating to the requested map information; send the requested mapinformation and the determined set of advertisements to the web browser;receive a zoom or transition request of the previously sent mapinformation; determine based on at least one criterion a new set ofadvertisements relating to the requested map information; and send therequested map information and the new set of advertisements to the webbrowser.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided acomputer program comprising a code adapter to perform the followingsteps when executed in a data processing device: receiving, from a webbrowser, a map information request; determining based on at least onecriterion a set of advertisements relating to the requested mapinformation; sending the requested map information and the determinedset of advertisements to the web browser; receiving a zoom or transitionrequest of the previously sent map information; determining based on atleast one criterion a new set of advertisements relating to therequested map information; and sending the requested map information andthe new set of advertisements to the web browser.

In one embodiment of the invention, the at least one criterion comprisesat least one of the following: a service provider of an advertisement issituated within a geographical area determined by the requested mapinformation; a priority list determining which advertisements relatingto the requested map information are to be sent to the web browser;proximity of a service provider of an advertisement outside therequested map information; and a requested service or product category.

In one embodiment of the invention, the requested map information andthe new set of advertisements to the web browser are sent in a form thatthe map information is surrounded by the new set of advertisements.

In one embodiment of the invention, the requested map information andthe determined set of advertisements to the web browser are sent in aform that the map information is surrounded by the set ofadvertisements.

In one embodiment of the invention, the computer program is embodied ona computer readable medium.

The benefits of the invention relate to improved correspondence betweenmap information and the related advertisement information displayed inthe proximity of the map information.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS:

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention and constitute a part of thisspecification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together withthe description help to explain the principles of the invention. In thedrawings:

FIG. 1 discloses a flow chart according to one embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 2a discloses one embodiment of a map view according to theinvention;

FIG. 2b discloses a map view according to one embodiment to theinvention;

FIG. 2c discloses a map view according to another embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 2d discloses a map view according to another embodiment of theinvention; and

FIG. 3 discloses a block diagram of a network server according to oneembodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of theinvention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings.

FIG. 1 discloses a flow chart according to one embodiment of theinvention. In step 100 a server application running in a web serverreceives a map content request from a web browser running on a computer,e.g. a personal or laptop computer. The server application determines,based on at least one predetermined condition, one or moreadvertisements relating to the requested map content, step 102. Therequested map content and the determined advertisements are sent to theweb browser, step 104. In step 106, the server application receives azoom or transition request of the map content. The zoom request refersto a request that either requests zoomed out or zoomed in content inproportion to the previously sent map content to the web browser. Thetransition request refers to a request that requests to ‘move’ thepreviously sent map content to a requested direction, the zoom levelremaining the same as in the previously sent map content. In response tothe request received in step 106, the web server again determinesadvertisements relating to the requested map content and sends therequested map content and the determined advertisements to the webbrowser.

In one embodiment of the determination step 102 of FIG. 1, theadvertisements to be sent to the web browser are determined based ongeographical location of the service providers of the advertisedproducts or services in proportion to the requested map content. Inother words, in one embodiment, when the user of the web browser zoomsin or out in the map, the advertisement icons change to those whoseservice providers are geographically situated within the map area whichis shown by the web browser.

In one embodiment of the invention, the order and that fact whichadvertisement(s) will be sent to the browser, may be determined based onvarious basis. For example, the user may want to see only advertisementservices providers of a certain category (e.g. hotel, shopping center,car dealer etc.). On the other, the advertised icons may be based on apriority list, e.g. based on the amount of money paid for theadvertisement. The advertisement shown to the user may also be randomlychosen from a group of service providers that are situated within thegeographical area relating to the request from the web browser.

In one embodiment of the invention, all the advertisement iconsdisplayed by the web browser are not located within the chosen map view.In this case it is possible to show one or more of the closest serviceproviders outside the shown map area with e.g. arrows pointing to themap area edge where the place can be found outside the map.

FIGS. 2a and 2b disclose a map view according to one embodiment of theinvention. The map view 260 comprises two main areas: an advertisementarea and a map information area 244. In the embodiment disclosed inFIGS. 2a and 2b , the map information area 244 is surrounded by theadvertisement area. In FIG. 2a the advertisement area comprisesadvertisement icon tiles 200-212 that make a frame to the mapinformation area 244. A zoom level indicator 242 identifies the currentlevel of zooming. The more the slide control of the zoom level indicator242 is on the ‘+’ side, the more accurate and detailed the map will be.In this embodiment, FIG. 2a displays a more detailed map than FIG. 2 b.

In FIG. 2b , some or all of the advertisement icon tiles 200-212 changeaccording to the zoom level 242 of the map information 244. Whencomparing the advertisement icon tiles in FIGS. 2a and 2b , it can beseen that advertisement icon tiles 200, 206 and 208 of FIG. 2a have beenreplaced with advertisement icon tiles 214, 216 and 218 in FIG. 2 b.

When an individual advertisement icon tile is clicked e.g. with a mouseof a computer displaying the map view 244, there may be a predeterminedresponse action in response to the click. The predetermined responseaction may e.g. be one of the following: click to call, additionalinformation about the advertisement or advertiser, a coupon to be sente.g. to a mobile terminal etc.

FIG. 2c discloses another embodiment for indicating a geographicallocation of a service provider of an advertisement. An advertisementicon tile 204 represents an advertisement of one service provider. Thegeographical location (e.g. an address) on the map is indicated with aline or lines starting from the advertisement 204 and ending to theexact geographical location. Yet another way to indicate thegeographical location of a service provider is to mark an advertisementwith some appropriate symbol and use the same symbol in the exactgeographical location on the map. In FIG. 2c advertisements 216 and 218have been marked with individual numbers. The same individual numbersare correspondingly used on the map in corresponding geographicallocations.

FIG. 2d discloses yet another embodiment for indicating a geographicallocation of a service provider of an advertisement. In one embodiment,if possible all the advertisement icons that are sent to the web browserfrom the network server are of service providers that are located withinthe current map area shown to the user. If there are no advertisementicons to be shown to the user or if there are additional advertisementspace in addition to the advertisements of the service providers thatare located within the current map area shown to the user, it is alsopossible to show advertisement icons of N closest service providers thatare located outside the currently shown map area. In FIG. 2dadvertisement icons 220 and 222 relate to service providers whose exactgeographical location is outside the map view shown to a user.Therefore, the advertisements 220 and 222 are preferably positioned sothat the position of the advertisement icon reflects the direction inwhich the service provider of the advertisement geographically issituated. It is also possible to use further indications (e.g. arrows asdisclosed in FIG. 2d ) to indicate that such service providers aresituated outside the shown map area.

In FIGS. 2a-2d it has been disclosed that the advertisements have beenarranged as tiles around the map information area. It is evident to aman skilled in the art that it is possible to arrange the advertisementsoutside the map information area into any appropriate form or place.

FIG. 3 discloses a block diagram of a network server according to oneembodiment of the invention. The network server 300 is equipped withappropriate protocols (e.g. Transmission Control Protocol/InternetProtocol (TCP/IP), HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) etc.) to connectto a data network, e.g. to the Internet. The network server 300comprises a map application 304, a map information storage 302 connectedto the map application 304 and an advertisement storage 306 connected tothe map application 304. The map application 304 is configured toreceive map information requests from the data network andcorrespondingly send the requested map information to the sender of therequest together with advertisement information via the data network.The determination of advertisement information has been disclosed in theembodiments in FIGS. 1 and 2 a-2 d.

It is possible, in one embodiment of the invention, to distribute atleast one of the map information storage 302 and the advertisementstorage 306 into separate network elements that are connected to thenetwork server 300.

It is evident to a man skilled in the art that the actual form of datasent to the web browser may vary depending on the implementation. Thedata may be sent to the web browser e.g. within a HTTP page, a Flashobject, a Java applet etc.

The network server 300 disclosed in FIG. 3 may comprise a memory ormemories that may refer to a single memory or memory area or to aplurality memories or memory areas that may include e.g. random accessmemories (RAM), read-only memories (ROM) etc. The memory may alsoinclude other applications or software components that are not describedin more detail and also may include the computer program (or portionthereof), which when executed on a central processing unit performs atleast some of the steps disclosed in the invention. The centralprocessing unit may also include memory or a memory may be associatedtherewith which may include the computer program (or portion thereof)which when executed on the central processing unit performs at leastsome of the steps disclosed in the invention.

It will be apparent to a person skilled in the art having reference tothis specification that, with the advancement of technology, the basicidea of the invention may be implemented in various ways. The inventionand its embodiments are thus not limited to the examples describedabove, instead they may vary within the scope of the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: sending a map informationrequest from a user device to a network server; receiving, at the userdevice from the network server, a first map information contentcorresponding to the map information request, and a first set ofadvertisement icons relating to the first map information content andbased on at least one criterion selected from a plurality of criteria;displaying, at the user device, the first map information content, andthe first set of advertisement icons; sending a transition requestrelative to the first map information content to the network server,wherein the transition request requests movement of the first mapinformation content in a requested direction and at a zoom level stayingthe same as the first map information content; receiving, at the userdevice from the network server, a second map information contentcorresponding to the transition request, and a second set ofadvertisement icons relating to the second map information content andbased on at least one criterion selected from the plurality of criteria;and displaying, at the user device, the second map information content,and the second set of advertisement icons; wherein at least one of thefirst and second sets of advertisement icons include at least oneadvertisement icon associated with a provider at a location outside ofthe corresponding map information content, displayed along a side of thecorresponding map information content in combination with an indicationof the direction of the location of that provider relative to thecorresponding map information content.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: responsive to a user input selecting one of the first orsecond sets of advertisement icons when displayed, providing apredetermined response action at the user device relating to theprovider associated with the selected advertisement icon.
 3. The methodof claim 2, wherein the predetermined response action comprises placinga call to the provider.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein thepredetermined response action comprises displaying additionalinformation regarding the provider.
 5. The method of claim 1, whereinthe plurality of criteria comprise: whether a provider corresponding toan advertisement icon is situated within a geographical area determinedby the map information request; a priority list determining whichadvertisement icons relating to the map information request are to besent to the user device; proximity of a location of a provider outsidethe map information request; and a requested service or productcategory.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least oneadvertisement icon associated with a provider at a location outside ofthe corresponding map information content comprises a plurality ofadvertisement icons surrounding the corresponding map informationcontent.
 7. A computer, adapted to: send a map information request fromthe computer to a network server; receive, from the network server, afirst map information content corresponding to the map informationrequest, and a first set of advertisement icons relating to the firstmap information content and based on at least one criterion selectedfrom a plurality of criteria; display the first map information content,and the first set of advertisement icons; send a transition requestrelative to the first map information content to the network server,wherein the transition request requests movement of the first mapinformation content in a requested direction and at a zoom level stayingthe same as the first map information content; receive, from the networkserver, a second map information content corresponding to the transitionrequest, and a second set of advertisement icons relating to the secondmap information content and based on at least one criterion selectedfrom the plurality of criteria; and display the second map informationcontent and the second set of advertisement icons; wherein at least oneof the first and second sets of advertisement icons include at least oneadvertisement icon associated with a provider at a location outside ofthe corresponding map information content, displayed along a side of thecorresponding map information content in combination with an indicationof the direction of the location of that provider relative to thecorresponding map information content.
 8. The computer of claim 7,further adapted to: responsive to a user input selecting one of thefirst or second sets of advertisement icons when displayed, provide apredetermined response action relating to the provider associated withthe selected advertisement icon.
 9. The computer of claim 8, wherein thecomputer is a mobile device; and wherein the predetermined responseaction comprises placing a call to the provider.
 10. The computer ofclaim 8, wherein the predetermined response action comprises displayingadditional information regarding the provider.
 11. The computer of claim7, wherein the plurality of criteria comprise: whether a providercorresponding to an advertisement icon is situated within a geographicalarea determined by the map information request; a priority listdetermining which advertisement icons relating to the map informationrequest are to be sent to the computer; proximity of a location of aprovider outside the map information request; and a requested service orproduct category.
 12. The computer of claim 7, wherein the at least oneadvertisement icon associated with a provider at a location outside ofthe corresponding map information content comprises a plurality ofadvertisement icons surrounding the corresponding map informationcontent.
 13. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing programinstructions that, when executed on a computer, cause a computer toperform a plurality of operations comprising: sending a map informationrequest to a network server; receiving, from the network server, a firstmap information content corresponding to the map information request,and a first set of advertisement icons relating to the first mapinformation content and based on at least one criterion selected from aplurality of criteria; displaying the first map information content andthe first set of advertisement icons; sending a transition requestrelative to the first map information content to the network server,wherein the transition request requests movement of the first mapinformation content in a requested direction and at a zoom level stayingthe same as the first map information content; receiving, from thenetwork server, a second map information content corresponding to thetransition request, and a second set of advertisement icons relating tothe second map information content and based on at least one criterionselected from the plurality of criteria; and displaying the second mapinformation content, and the second set of advertisement icons; whereinat least one of the first and second sets of advertisement icons includeat least one advertisement icon associated with a provider at a locationoutside of the corresponding map information content, displayed along aside of the corresponding map information content in combination with anindication of the direction of the location of that provider relative tothe corresponding map information content.
 14. The computer-readablemedium of claim 13, wherein the plurality of operations furthercomprises: responsive to a user input selecting one of the first orsecond sets of advertisement icons when displayed, providing apredetermined response action relating to the provider associated withthe selected advertisement icon.
 15. The computer-readable medium ofclaim 14, wherein the computer is a mobile device; and wherein thepredetermined response action comprises placing a call to the provider.16. The computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the predeterminedresponse action comprises displaying additional information regardingthe provider.
 17. The computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein theplurality of criteria comprise: whether a provider corresponding to anadvertisement icon is situated within a geographical area determined bythe map information request; a priority list determining whichadvertisement icons relating to the map information request are to besent to the user device; proximity of a location of a provider outsidethe map information request; and a requested service or productcategory.
 18. The computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the atleast one advertisement icon associated with a provider at a locationoutside of the corresponding map information content comprises aplurality of advertisement icons surrounding the corresponding mapinformation content.